Harry's and Severus' New Family
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: What if Harry and Severus were growing up at Hogwarts as brothers? Main persons: Harry, Sev, Minerva, Albus, Poppy. Completely AU, partly OOC, childfic, sick!Harry
1. Chapter 1

**Harry's and Severus' New Family**

**Chapter 1 (Prologue 1)  
**

Harry was sitting in his cupboard breathing heavily. He always had problems to breathe, especially if he was in his cupboard; however, today it was especially bad since he had caught a cold above everything else. Due to his breathing problems, he often had a sore throat or a snotty nose, especially as his relatives didn't cuddle him to make him better like he could remember his mummy do when he fell sick once.

He began to whimper silently and as usual nobody heard him, but he could hardly breathe anymore and began to panic – so much that his magic kicked in and he suddenly found himself in the fresh air, noticing in relief that he could breathe again. However, it was very cold and Harry shivered vehemently in the icy winter air.

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Arabella Figg was just cooking lunch, when suddenly something blue appeared just in front of her window in the front garden. She hurried outside and picked the small bundle up, frowning when she saw that it was Harry. Only a week ago she had babysat him for a few hours, when the Dursleys had taken Dudley to meet Santa in one of the departments in town.

"Harry, what are you doing here?" she asked astonished, quickly taking him inside when she noticed that his teeth were chattering from the cold and his breathing was laboured. She sat him on the sofa in the living room, covering him with a warm blanket. "What's wrong with you, sweetie?"

"Couldn't bweafe, and den I was in de gawden," Harry answered, very confused and slightly hoarse.

"You were in your room and had problems to breathe?" the old lady enquired.

"In my cupbowd," Harry confirmed.

"And then all of a sudden you found yourself in my front garden?"

Harry gave her a shy nod, knowing that the old lady was much nicer than his aunt, and let out a series of sneezes, continuing to breathe heavily. Mrs. Figg also noticed strange sounds that accompanied his every breath. She carefully placed a hand on the child's forehead, which seemed very warm to the touch, and asked, "Are you feeling sick, sweetie?"

Harry shrugged, giving her a helpless look. '_I'll better call Poppy and let her check on Harry_,' the old lady thought. '_He definitely has problems, and with a two-year old it's too dangerous to leave him unchecked_.'

She hurried to the fireplace and called Poppy, praying that she was staying at Hogwarts during the Christmas holidays that should have begun the previous day. A minute later, Poppy was at Harry's side, waving her wand over him several times, before she sat down on the edge of the sofa and quietly talked to the child.

"Hello Harry, can you tell me exactly what's wrong? Are you having difficulties to breathe?"

Harry nodded shyly. "I haww aways difficuwties to bweafe, but today it's bad," he whispered.

"All right, Harry; Arabella, I will take Harry with me to Hogwarts. I need to properly check on him. He has a slight lung infection, which probably results from a connection of chronic asthma and a normal cold."

"All right, Poppy, I will speak with the Dursleys," Arabella promised.

Poppy picked up the child and cuddled him close when she stepped into the fireplace, shouting, "Hogwarts hospital wing."

She placed Harry on the bed nearest to her office, putting a charm around the bed, so that Harry couldn't fall off. After waving her wand over the child once more, she magically connected him to a small monitoring device on the window sill behind his bed that automatically displayed his temperature and his oxygen level at all times. Finally, she fetched an asthma spray from her office, adjusted the teddy that was attached to it to his mouth and nose and carefully pressed the button twice, noticing that the child's breathing improved a little.

"Harry, I will get some medicine for you; please wait a short moment, all right?" she softly addressed the child, receiving a shy nod from Harry.

Poppy hurried to the fireplace and called the children's ward of St. Mungo's to retrieve potions, which she could give to an infant. Luckily, her colleagues at the hospital handed her two doses of a fever reducer as well as two doses of a potion against lung infection, so that she'd have enough time to ask the Potions Master to brew more of each potion.

She returned to Harry's side and gently helped him to sit up and swallow the potions, watching as he visibly relaxed when the potions took effect. Remembering that she had noticed a strange smell around the child when she had picked him up earlier, she quickly conjured a changing table including wet tissues and lots of nappies right next to his bed and asked Harry, "Now, sweetie, shall we change your dirty nappy?"

Harry gave her such a delighted look that Poppy couldn't help frowning. '_It's not such an event to get a nappy changed now, is it?_' she thought confused and picked Harry up, carefully putting him on the changing table. Taking his nappy off, she stopped dead in her tracks. '_I don't want to know how often they change his nappy; he has a really bad rash_,' she thought angrily and summoned a healing cream from her potions shelf. When she carefully applied the healing cream, Harry once more gave her a look of absolute delight and said in a low voice, "Fanku; feels vewy good."

"You're welcome, sweetie," Poppy cooed and quickly put a new nappy on the child before she dressed him in light footie pyjamas with small green dragons on it. "Are you hungry, Harry?" she asked, picking up the child.

Harry quickly shook his head, and his face took on a frightened expression, causing the healer to frown. "Would you like to drink some water then, sweetie?" she questioned him and took him into her office, where she held a glass of water against his lips.

The child greedily drank the water, sighing in relief when he was done. "All right now, I'd like you to go back to bed and sleep for a while, so that you'll feel better afterwards," Poppy told Harry in a soft voice and laid him back into his bed. With a flick of her wand, she conjured a stuffed green teddy bear and handed it to the child, receiving a huge smile and a 'Fanku' in return.

Harry threw the nice lady a grateful smile. Never since his mummy was gone had he felt so cared for. In spite of his sore throat and chest he felt very happy – and tired. He just couldn't keep his eyes open anymore and drifted off to sleep within seconds, his right thumb in his mouth and his teddy carefully tucked under his left arm.

Poppy threw a last glance on the display of the monitoring device and hurried to the fireplace to call Minerva, Albus, and Severus.

"I only know what Arabella told me and what I could observe," she began to explain to the teachers. "The Dursleys obviously keep Harry in a cupboard, which is filled with several kinds of cleaning substances. The boy has only a small mattress and his baby blanket in the cupboard but spends the whole day there. That is what Arabella told me after watching Harry for a day last week. He forgot his blanket and was crying for it, so that they had to go and fetch it, and he showed Arabella where he lived. Probably due to his upbringing, he seems to have developed Asthma, which in this case turned a simple cold into a lung infection."

"How did Arabella know that Harry was ill though?" Minerva asked sternly.

"He seems to have apparated himself into her front garden. He told her that he couldn't breathe and suddenly found himself outside in the cold. Fortunately, Arabella was just in her kitchen and found him immediately."

"I assume that he panicked because of not being able to breathe, and the panic provoked this strong accidental magic," the headmaster spoke up thoughtfully.

Ignoring Minerva's gasp, the healer continued, "When I asked him if I could change his nappy, he gave me a look of pure delight as if Christmas had come early. As soon as I took his nappy off, I knew the reason. He had such a bad rash on his bottom that I have to assume that his nappy wasn't changed frequently to say the least."

Observing the professors' faces, Poppy sighed and said determined, "If you want my advice as a healer, I'd strongly recommend to keep the child here at Hogwarts and let him grow up here. I know about the blood wards Albus explained about, but from the medical point of view he is not safe at his relatives."

"I agree completely and I would be willing to take him in, provided that you all help me," Minerva replied, a determined expression on her face.

"Well, I don't like it," Albus stated. "However, I'm willing to surrender to your opinion. If you all think we should let him grow here at Hogwarts and are willing to help keeping him save, then I won't stand in your way. However, frankly speaking I believe that Minerva and I are too old to raise an infant. Severus, how about you? I'd like to ask you to raise Harry."

* * *

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to __Mrs. Rowling__, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 (Prologue 2)  
**

"I?" Severus jumped off his seat, ready to storm out of Poppy's office. "The offspring of James Potter? Who always played pranks on me? Whose best friend tried to kill me? Who took my best friend from me and drove me insane enough to join the Death Eaters? Who is still subject of my nightmares every night? You can't mean that, Albus, do you?"

"If you're finished throwing a temper tantrum," Minerva spoke up in a cold voice, "perhaps you can sit down again, since I'm sure that Poppy will have to inform you which potions she needs for little Harry."

Poppy sighed. "Yes, Severus; I'm sorry to bother you, but I need a fever reducer and a potion against lung infection for infants. I have one spare phial here, which I got from St. Mungo's, in case you need to assess what's in it. However, Harry will need it around dinnertime," she informed the Potions Master in a gentle voice. "Do you think I could get the new potions in the morning?"

"Of course," Severus replied in a civil voice. Poppy had always been a good friend to him. He could well remember their first encounter when he came to Hogwarts as an eleven-year old and had to spend a night in the hospital wing with a cold. On that occasion, Poppy had discovered that his whole body was full of bruises. She had made him confide into her, and from that time onwards, they had been good friends.

"Well, think about it, Severus. We'll meet here again tomorrow afternoon," Albus concluded the meeting.

Severus hurriedly left the office, only to stop dead in his tracks. '_There is Potter_,' he thought, an expression of absolute hatred on his face. He hesitantly stepped over to the child, who was sleeping innocently, cuddling his teddy in his sleep. '_He's the spitting image of his father_,' he thought loathingly. '_Never, ever could I become the guardian of that little good for nothing 'hero'_.' He spat the last word aloud.

"Did you just have to turn up here at this time?" he hissed at the sleeping child. "You had better stayed where you were. Even if you came to Hogwarts at eleven, it would have been too early."

He didn't notice the tears that suddenly welled up in the child's eyes, who silently began to cry. Severus was just about to turn around and leave, when Albus stepped over to him.

"Care for a lemon drop, Severus?" he asked gently, holding out a sweet for the tall man, knowing that his Potions Master would never accept that kind of delicacy.

"No thank you, headmaster," Severus declined, politely bowing his head.

"Ah, it's such a pity that Harry is asleep right now," the headmaster said softly. "He has Lily's beautiful green eyes, and according to Arabella, he reminds her of Lily every time she sees him. Well, I won't keep you from the potions you have to brew, my boy," he finished, his eyes twinkling happily.

"I shall see you at dinner, Albus," Severus replied and hurriedly left the hospital wing, his black robes billowing behind him.

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Back in his quarters, Severus headed straight for the shelf in his living room, on which he kept an old bottle of fire whiskey, took a glass and sat down in front of the fireplace, quickly gulping down the burning liquid. "The headmaster has gone mad!" he talked to himself. "I, Severus Snape, have to raise the son of James Potter? I should suggest taking him to St. Mungo's for a mental check-up!" he spat, pouring himself another fire whiskey. "What should I do with a toddler here anyway? Should I take him to the potions classroom and try to prevent the Slytherins from killing him?"

After the third fire whiskey, he was nearly drifting off to a well needed slumber, when he suddenly saw an image of a small boy in front of him, looking like James Potter. "Oh no," he groaned. "I have to brew the potions for the little git."

Gulping down a last glass of fire whiskey, Severus found his way into his private lab, searching for the recipe of the two requested potions. '_I'm not the Potions Master at Hogwarts to brew potions for babies_,' he mused angrily, trying hard to remember the order of the letters in the alphabet. '_F is behind P... Potter, isn't it? Where is the fever reducer in this book?_' he mused, deciding to start with the potion against the lung infection. '_L as in Lily; here it is_.'

He fetched two cauldrons, setting them up at the same time, before he began to prepare the ingredients for his first potion. While he crushed eucalyptus leaves and cut moon fern, pictures of the Marauders letting him hover upside down in the air passed in front of his mind. He shuddered when he remembered the night of the full moon, during which he had nearly lost his life to a hungry werewolf. '_Well, it was Potter, who saved your life that night_,' a small voice at the back of his head spoke up, which he decided to ignore.

'_Ah, I need a headache potion_,' he thought, trying to ignore the small voice that was annoying enough to speak up again, '_That's your own fault, because you drank several glasses of fire whiskey without even eating lunch before_.' Glad that he hadn't yet started to brew, he headed back into his living room to rest for a few minutes, fetching a headache potion as he went.

As soon as he sat down on his favourite chair in front of the fireplace, images of the Marauders' taunting again filled his mind. "I cannot take that anymore!" he shouted angrily and fetched the headmaster's Pensieve that Albus had lent him a few days ago. During the next hour, Severus placed all his memories of James Potter and his Gryffindor friends into the Pensieve, thinking, '_Good riddance_,' when he leaned back in exhaustion. Finally, he gulped down the headache potion, sighing in relief when he felt the immediate effects.

After a few minutes of rest, he walked back into his lab and brewed the potion against the lung infection. '_But I hate the child. He's the offspring of my worst enemy. Although I don't know exactly why_,' he mused while he concentrated on stirring the potion correctly. He bottled the potion into phials, labelled them and set the batch aside to take them to the hospital wing later.

'_Well, at least one is done_,' he thought relieved, rubbing his forehead to get rid of the recurring headache. '_Maybe I shouldn't have drunken so much whiskey_,' he mused, while he pulled over the recipe with the fever reducing potion. He absentmindedly prepared the ingredients, while his thoughts wandered off to Lily. '_She was the only person I ever loved, and that git took her away_,' he mused, suddenly remembering her beautiful eyes; '_so green_,' he thought. '_They were absolutely gorgeous_.' Still thinking about Lily, he absentmindedly brewed the potion.

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At the same time, Minerva entered the Great Hall, where the few teachers and students, who had remained at Hogwarts during the winter holidays, were already sitting at the table waiting for her. "I'm sorry for the delay," she excused herself. Turning to Albus, she continued, "I just came from the hospital wing. Little Harry still has a fever, and Poppy is going to stay with him; she won't join us tonight."

"All right," the headmaster replied. "But where is Severus? He should know better than to miss dinner!"

"Of course," Minerva replied. Everyone at Hogwarts knew that dinner was considered the main meal during the holidays, for which everyone had to show up in the Great Hall. "Albus, shall I go and look for him?"

"I can go and call him," Filius Flitwick offered gently.

"Shall I go and fetch the Professor?" one of the Slytherin first years suggested.

"Thank you, Filius, Mr. White. However, I'm afraid that he won't hear you, if he is still in his private lab, so that either Professor McGonagall or I will have to go. I'll fetch him, Minerva; please go ahead and start to eat." He clapped his hands twice, causing dinner to appear on the table and left the Great Hall through a hidden door behind the head table.

'_I will have to do something to make Severus and Harry realise how similar they are. If the two of them worked together in the future, nobody would have a chance against them_,' he mused while he slowly descended the stairs to the dungeons.

Knowing that Severus would probably still be in his private lab, totally engrossed in his potions, the headmaster didn't bother knocking but told the wizard on the portrait hole the password and entered Severus' private quarters. In the living room, he stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted the empty glass and the half cleared bottle of fire whiskey. '_Oh my poor boy, what did I do to you?_' he thought, terrified, knowing that Severus normally didn't drink at all and that the bottle had been full and on his shelf for at least a year.

Suddenly, he noticed a small boy of about three years trying to hide behind a chair. "Hello my child, what are you doing here?" he asked gently.

"I'm sorry, sir. I was just looking..." the small boy slowly trailed off, giving the headmaster a frightened look.

* * *

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Severus?" the headmaster enquired carefully.

"Yes," the small boy replied frightened. "Where am I, sir? I was looking for my mummy, sir. My head hurts and I don't know where my clothes are."

"Oh my poor boy; I'm afraid your mummy is not here. You are at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardly. Let me take you to Poppy; I'm sure she will have a potion that'll help with your headache." Albus waved his wand, and in the blink of an eye, the small boy was dressed in dark blue trousers and a green sweatshirt.

'_A potion?_' Severus thought. '_That sounds good; my mummy would give me a potion, too_.'

Fifteen minutes later, Poppy couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Albus Dumbledore walk into the hospital wing together with a small boy, especially when she gave the child a piercing look and noticed a strong resemblance to Severus Snape.

"Poppy, little Severus here has a headache. Do you have something to help him?" the headmaster enquired, glancing over at Harry, who was so huddled into his blankets that he could only see his unruly black hair.

"Of course, I'll have something," Poppy replied gently and turned to the child. "Severus, will you sit on the bed there next to Harry and let me check on you, please?"

"All right," the boy replied frightfully and let Poppy sit him on a bed and wave her wand over him.

"What happened, Albus?" the healer enquired in a small voice, frowning.

"Severus obviously drank half a bottle of fire whiskey. That's all I know. I'll have to go down and investigate."

Poppy once more waved her wand at the child. "You must have a terrible headache, my child. Let me see what I can do against it." She retrieved a phial from her office and made Severus drink a potion. "You're a very good big boy, aren't you?" she commended him gently, when he swallowed the liquid without protest, and smiled when he drifted off to sleep with a small smile playing on his lips.

"He is three years and three months old, and he seems to have a huge amount of alcohol in his blood," Poppy explained.

"I obviously drove Severus over the edge, asking him to take care of Harry," Albus replied sadly. "He normally never drinks. Someone gave him that bottle at least a year ago, and since then it has been standing on his shelf untouched. I have to return to his Potions lab and see if I can find out what happened."

"If there is any potion left, bring me a phial, so that I can try to brew the antidote for him," Poppy instructed the headmaster before she returned to Harry's side, waving her wand over the child.

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An hour later, Albus returned to the hospital wing. He handed Poppy the batch of potions against lung infection that Severus had brewed for Harry as well as the recipe of the fever reducer and sighed. "Let me call Minerva, and then we'll talk about the matter."

Poppy hurried to the fireplace and called her best friend, who stepped out of the fireplace a minute later, letting out a huge gasp when she saw Severus through the large window in Poppy's office that allowed full sight over the hospital wing.

"Is that Severus?" she enquired, exasperated. What happened to him?"

"That's the question, Minerva," Albus replied, thoughtfully trying to straighten his long, white beard. "Apparently, he drank half a bottle of fire whiskey, and," ignoring Minerva's gasp, he continued, "managed to brew one of the potions for Harry. However, instead of the fever reducer he brewed a de-aging potion, which he managed to apply on himself. Unfortunately, I'm not able to assess if it was a mere Potions accident."

"Isn't that obvious, Albus?" Minerva asked in the voice she normally used on students, who weren't able to manage their transfiguration assignment properly.

"No Minerva," Albus replied gravely. "He might have willingly de-aged himself. I believe that I might have pushed him over the edge telling him that he should raise little Harry."

"Do you really suspect Severus might do that?" Minerva asked unbelievingly.

"I don't know, Minerva; I really don't know. Will you accompany me to his quarters, so that we can look for hints once more, please?"

"Of course, Albus," the Transfiguration teacher replied and stepped into the fireplace after the headmaster.

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"Did you look into the Pensieve?" Minerva enquired, pointing to the Pensieve that was sitting in the middle of the table.

"No Minerva, can you believe that I missed that?" Albus replied and motioned Minerva to join him when he entered the Pensieve.

"It's not by chance that he placed so many memories of Harry's father and his friends in the Pensieve, leaving it on the table for us to watch, Minerva. I drove him over the edge," the headmaster mused aloud, his eyes void of their usual twinkle.

Minerva sighed. "I didn't know that it was so bad and that it were the Marauders, who caused him to join the Death Eaters. It's my fault as well as yours, Albus. What are we going to do? How can we help him? I mean, I think Poppy will be able to brew the aging potion for him. She was always brilliant at Potions."

"I won't ask him to raise Harry, Minerva. That's all I know at the moment," Albus replied thoughtfully. "I suggest that we sleep over the whole matter. Harry and Severus are both in good hands with Poppy, and we should discuss this further together with Poppy in the morning. She knows Severus very well and might be able to give us valuable advice."

"All right," Minerva agreed and returned to her quarters, while Albus strode by the hospital wing to fill Poppy in about their findings.

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In the morning, Poppy was just checking on Harry when Severus woke up. After looking around for a moment, he quickly scrambled out of bed and toddled over to Harry's bedside. "Hello, I'm Severus," he told the smaller boy gently.

"Hello Sevvus, I'm Hawwy," Harry replied hoarsely, a small smile playing on his lips.

"My name is Severus," the other boy said indignantly.

"Sowwy, Se-ve-wus," Harry pronounced carefully.

"Harry is ten month younger than you, sweetie," Poppy explained to the older boy.

"I'm three," Severus replied proudly and gave Poppy a hesitant look before he continued in a very small voice, "I have to go wee-wee."

Poppy laughed. "That's no problem, sweetie. Harry, wait a moment please, I'll be back shortly." She quickly led Severus to the toilets, carefully watching him in case he needed help.

Severus watched her every move when she continued to check on Harry and gave him his potions, before she changed his nappy, causing Harry to throw her a grateful smile. "Is Harry sick?" he asked softly.

"Yes sweetie, Harry is sick. Harry, do you feel well enough to get up for a while and play with Severus?"

'_Will he play with me? Won't he mind that I'm a freak?_' Harry thought warily and replied in a small voice, "I'd wike dat."

In a corner of the hospital wing, right next to her office, Poppy conjured a play corner for the children with a soft mattress and lots of Lego bricks, toys, and children's books. "All right," she turned back to the kids, who had been watching her amazed, "You may play here for a while. If you need anything else, you may ask me, and I'll see what I can do. Harry, if you feel worse, you have to tell me immediately. All right?"

"Awight," Harry replied, excitedly eyeing the play corner.

Poppy retired to her office, amusedly watching the two children playing next to each other. Severus was just showing Harry how to build a wall with the Lego bricks, when Minerva and Albus entered the hospital wing, looking amazed at the scene in front of them.

Seeing that Harry tried to hide behind Severus when he noticed the unknown adults, Albus pulled Minerva into Poppy's office. "It's amazing," Minerva mused aloud. "Albus, you should install a camera and show the pictures to Severus later.

"I don't think that will be necessary, Minerva," Albus said calmly.

"Why not, Albus? I think it's a good idea," Poppy spoke up.

Albus sighed. "I believe that Severus needs a second chance. We should let him grow up once more together with Harry."

* * *

_Well – will that work out? Who would you like to raise Harry and Severus? Minerva, Poppy, or Minerva and Albus?_

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"You want to leave Severus a three-year old?" Minerva gasped, giving the headmaster a wide-eyed look.

"I think that's a very good idea, Albus," Poppy said warmly. "Even if we don't know if he de-aged himself willingly or if it was an accident, I believe that it'll be the best that could happen to him."

"But who do you think should raise two infants, Albus?" Minerva asked, still not convinced of the headmaster's idea.

"Well, I could imagine adopting both of them," Albus replied thoughtfully. "A change of his name would take a huge burden from Harry, at least it would take away the expectations the wizarding world holds towards him, and concerning Severus, it wouldn't do good to have a three-year old Severus Snape running around."

Minerva sighed in disbelief. "Albus, you're nearly a hundred and fifty years old. Do you think that's appropriate for raising two toddlers?"

The headmaster smirked, and his eyes began to twinkle merrily. "No Minerva, but you and Poppy are qualified and young enough to properly raise the boys. Of course I will help if you need me."

"So we're going to raise them together," Poppy acknowledged. "All right. By the way, did you already have breakfast?"

"No, in fact we came here on our way to the Great Hall to see if you could join us or if Harry is too sick," Minerva replied, throwing Poppy a questioning glance.

"He is very sick, and he still has quite a fever. However, the potions work well, and if we carry him to the Great Hall, he should be all right. The children need to eat anyway," Poppy replied and stepped out of her office, where Severus was just building a tower once more, which Harry had unintentionally destroyed for the second time. "Who is coming with me to the Great Hall for breakfast?" she asked joyfully.

Severus quietly glanced at Harry and stepped over to Poppy, taking her hand. "Come, Harry," he invited the smaller boy.

Minerva held out a hand for Harry, and he anxiously toddled over to the older woman. She carefully put a cool hand on his forehead, which felt hot to the touch. "I don't think you're well enough to walk all the way; I'm going to carry you," she said softly, picking the small child up.

Ten minutes later, they reached the Great Hall, where Albus called a house elf and asked for two children's chairs that appeared next to the head table in the blink of an eye. Minerva sat Harry in the chair next to her own, and Severus climbed onto the other chair, sitting between Harry and Poppy. While Poppy filled a bit of everything on Severus' plate, Minerva asked Harry, "What would you like to eat, sweetie?"

Harry gave her a terrified look, mumbling, "Hawwy not allowed to eat at table."

Minerva had to try hard not to gasp. "No Harry, on the contrary. I want you to eat a lot during mealtimes. Would you like a bit of everything like Severus has? Or would you prefer fruits or soup because your throat is sore?"

Harry threw her a questioning glance but didn't answer, and Minerva decided to fill his plate like Poppy had done with Severus'. Harry hesitantly glanced at Severus and seeing that he was devouring his breakfast with delight, he obediently ate a few bites as well, until he noticed that his belly was full.

After breakfast, Poppy, Minerva, and Albus led the two children back to their play corner in the hospital wing. Severus immediately busied himself with the Lego blocks; however, Harry protested softly when Minerva tried to put him down onto the floor and nestled deeper into her robes. "Are you feeling unwell, Harry? Do you want to take a nap on my lap for a while?"

Harry gave her a slight nod and closed his eyes in relief, while Poppy, who had witnessed the scene, waved her wand at the child. "I think he is in dire need of some rest; he has quite a fever," she commented and poured out tea for her friends and herself.

"Severus, I have to speak with the ladies for a moment, but afterwards we could go out to the grounds and have a look at the beautiful lake. What do you think, hmm?" Albus addressed the boy, whose face had taken on a sad expression when Minerva took Harry with her.

"Oh yes, please," Severus beamed and proceeded to look at a book, while the adults held a small meeting.

"As I said before, I suggest that I adopt both boys; however, each of them will need one more guardian. I don't know if the ministry will accept both of you as guardians beside myself; what should we do in that case?"

After a minute of pensive silence, Poppy spoke up. "Harry has obviously taken a liking to Minerva, while I have always had a very good relationship to Severus. Therefore, I'd suggest that you make Minerva Harry's guardian and me Severus', although that should only be for the official record. We need to look after both children together anyway."

"I agree fully with Poppy," Minerva spoke up.

"All right, then I will take the young man for a walk around the lake, before I'll head to the ministry," the headmaster agreed and went over to Severus. "Shall we go for a walk, young man?"

Severus looked up from his book and happily jumped up, putting the book on the floor, while Albus conjured a colourful snow suit with small, roaring dragons for the child. Severus giggled each time one of the dragons roared, while Albus helped him to put the snow suit on.

Two hours, a walk around the lake, a snowball fight, and a building of a snowman later, the headmaster returned with an exhausted but hungry toddler in tow. "If you could look after the boys please," he told Poppy and Minerva, who were just changing Harry's nappy and spelling potions into his stomach at the same time, "then I will go to the ministry and also pay Horace a visit. I intend to ask him if he could come back to Hogwarts, until Severus is old enough to become a teacher again."

Poppy groaned. "Oh Albus, you know that I could never get along with Slughorn."

"Poppy, believe me; I know that. But it will only be for a few years. If Severus is as adept at Potions as he was before, he'll soon be able and willing to brew potions for you. And I need Horace, because I want to save the position for Severus. He will definitely agree to retire as soon as Severus is old enough to take over," the headmaster explained, his eyes twinkling happily. "Ah, by the way, Poppy; when is Severus' exact date of birth? I can't well tell them January 9, 1960, if he is only three years old."

Poppy smirked and waved her wand at Severus. "September 1st, 1979."

"Oh, then they will be in the same Hogwarts year," Minerva thought aloud, joyfully tickling Harry's belly, while she changed his nappy.

As soon as Poppy finished spelling potions into Harry, she turned to Severus and helped him to get rid of his snow suit, while he told her excitedly about the beautiful snowman they had built right next to the lake.

"I believe that was a lot of fun," Poppy said, smiling at the small boy's excitement. "As soon as Harry is completely recovered, you may go and build a snowman together; that'll be even more fun."

"Harry?" Severus enquired softly. "Can Harry play with me?"

"We'll see, sweetie; aren't you hungry? I believe it's time to eat lunch first, and then we'll see if Harry feels well enough to play. I'm sure he'd love to play with you."

Severus smiled happily. '_I still don't know where my mummy is, but I love having Harry to play. He is very nice_.'

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When the headmaster returned a few hours later, the two children were sitting next to each other looking at a book, obviously having lots of fun, while Minerva sat on Harry's other side and was reading the story to them.

"They seem to get along well, don't they?" he said, smiling, when he entered Poppy's office.

"Very well," Poppy confirmed.

"I went to the Ministry and changed the children's identity. They are now Harry James Potter Dumbledore, whereby Dumbledore is his surname, and Severus Tobias Dumbledore." He showed Poppy a parchment.

_Name: Harry James Potter Dumbledore__  
Date of birth: July 31, 1980__  
Mother: Lily Evans, deceased  
Father: James Potter, deceased  
Adoptive Father: Albus ... Dumbledore  
Guardian: Minerva McGonagall  
Godmother: Poppy Pomfrey_

"All right," Poppy agreed, reaching for the other parchment.

_Name: Severus Tobias Dumbledore  
Date of birth: September 1, 1979  
Mother: Eileen Prince, deceased  
Father: Tobias Snape, deceased  
Adoptive Father: Albus ... Dumbledore  
Guardian: Poppy Pomfrey  
Godmother: Minerva McGonagall_

"I've asked the house elves to make a children's room for them, which was a bit complicated," the headmaster continued when Minerva entered the room and looked curiously at the two certificates.

* * *

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Let me show you the children's room," Albus told Minerva and Poppy, heading out of Poppy's office. "Harry, Severus, I'd like to show you your new room. Do you want to see it?"

"Yes!" Severus replied happily, trying to pull Harry up and with him, causing the smaller boy to place a frightened expression on his face, his lower lip slightly quivering.

"No sweetie, don't pull Harry please; you could hurt him," Poppy told him gently, and Severus immediately leased his grip on Harry's arm.

"Sorry Harry, I didn't want to hurt you," he apologized quickly.

"Didn't hawt, no pwoblem," Harry replied, a small smile playing on his lips. He tiredly toddled over to Minerva, throwing both little arms into the air, giving the nice lady a pleading look. '_She was so nice to carry me before; maybe she'll do it again. I'm tired and I don't feel so well_,' he mused, gratefully noticing that he was being picked up gently by the nice lady.

Seeing that Harry was being carried, Severus stepped over to Poppy, taking her hand. "All right, Sevvie; shall we go?" she asked gently, and Severus gave her a happy nod.

The headmaster led them to the gargoyle that protected the headmaster's office. "New family members," he offered his newest password, causing the adults to chuckle, while they stepped up the stairs towards the office. In front of the office however, they turned left where another door hat appeared, guarded by a portrait of a young woman with red hair and green eyes. "Hello Lily, I'm glad to have you here near my office," he greeted the woman friendly, causing Minerva and Poppy to gasp.

"I didn't know there even was a portrait of you," Minerva said amazed.

"Hello Minerva, Poppy," Lily replied. "My portrait was in our house in Godric's Hollow, until a house elf came to take me away this afternoon, telling me he came on Albus' order. Albus then told me what I was needed for, and I'm extremely glad to receive the honour of guarding Harry's and Sevvie's room. I love both of them dearly."

Minerva turned to Harry and Severus. "This woman is Lily Potter, Harry's mummy and Sevvie's best friend. I believe that neither of you remembers her, but you'll get to know her well, since she will always be here guarding your room. Now, you have to fix a password with Lily."

"Pretty butterfly," Severus suggested, causing the adults to laugh.

"That's a beautiful password, sweetie," Poppy said gently. "However, we have to see if it isn't too difficult for Harry yet."

"It's awight; Pwetty buttafwy," Harry replied, staring at the woman in the picture in awe. '_Sevvie is right; she is beautiful_,' he thought happily.

"All right; don't forget the password, and we can agree on a different one whenever you want," Lily told the children gently, before she opened the door. It lead to a huge children's room with two four poster beds next to each other on one side of the room, a changing table next to one of the beds, a bookshelf with lots of children's books on the opposite wall under a huge window that was charmed to show the grounds in front of the entrance doors. Next to the changing table was a wardrobe, and between the changing table and the wardrobe was a door leading to a bathroom. The far end of the room was occupied by a huge playground that immediately held the children's attention. Also at the opposite end of the room were three doors, which were all open.

"This door leads to Minerva's living room," Albus explained patiently to the children. "The next door leads to Poppy's and the last door to my quarters."

Harry shifted uncomfortably in Minerva's arms, obviously longing to be let down, and as soon as she put him on the floor, Harry and Severus dashed away to the playground.

"They won't be able to listen to any explanations at the moment," Poppy voiced and motioned her colleagues to take a seat, pointing to the small chairs that stood around a small children's table in the centre of the room.

"Well, at least they seem to like their room, and they get along well. That's more than we could have hoped for," Minerva replied relieved.

"That's true, Minerva," Albus agreed immediately, glancing at his watch.

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Suddenly, Severus took the small green car that Harry had been playing for the last few minutes from Harry. The smaller boy's eyes immediately filled with tears and his lower lip began to quiver slightly. However, Harry didn't say a word but sadly watched Severus playing with the car he liked so much because it had the same colour as the eyes of the beautiful woman on their door.

"Severus, that was not nice," Minerva scolded him lightly. "Harry is smaller than you; he's your little brother now, and you mustn't take toys from him."

'_Oh, she's standing up for me!_' Harry thought excitedly. '_The nice lady sounds as if she would care about me. But maybe she just doesn't know that I'm a freak and don't have a right to play with toys_.' "It's awight; Sevvie pway is fine," he said quickly.

'_Oh, that was bad; I shouldn't have done that; it's just that the car has my favourite colour_,' Severus mused. "Sorry Harry," he replied, suddenly afraid that Harry would be angry. He quickly handed the car back to the smaller boy, whose eyes lit happily as he reached for the toy.

"Fanku Sevvie," Harry replied happily. "Hawwy wike gween caw. Sevvie wike gween too?"

Severus stepped over to the box with the cars, taking a red one this time. He held the car in his hands, looking at it intensely, and to everyone's, especially Harry's great amazement, the car's colour changed into the emerald green of Harry's car.

"I like green too," he explained to Harry, sitting down next to him.

For a few minutes, both children played contentedly with their cars. After a while though, Harry took his car and toddled over to Minerva. He tiredly climbed onto her lap, resting his achy head on her shoulder. Minerva carefully placed a hand on his forehead, frowning when it felt quite hot to the touch.

"Shall I put you to bed, Harry? You're unwell and tired, aren't you?" she talked to the child in a soft voice, gesticulating to Poppy at the same time.

'_She really sounds as if she cared_,' Harry thought happily. '_But am I allowed to complain?_' Only very hesitantly, he replied, "I'm a bit sowe, but it's not bad."

"I think it is quite bad, sweetie," Poppy jumped into the conversation. "You are ill, and we will put you to bed right now." She turned to Albus, while Minerva took Harry to the changing table. "The only problem I have, Albus, is that I can't see the children here. Normally, I spend the evening in my office and can watch all the sick students through the window in my office. Of course they don't know that I'm watching them since you can't see the window form the hospital wing because it appears as a normal wall, but I always know what my patients are doing and I know immediately if they have problems. Here, Harry is quite far away, and I can't see him."

Albus remained pensive for a moment. "Poppy, you can of course have such a window leading to the children's room. It's actually a good idea. You probably want one in your office and one in your private quarters, don't you?"

"That would be very good," Poppy agreed, and Albus quickly called a house elf and asked for the windows, before he motioned Poppy to quickly accompany the elf and tell him exactly where she wanted the windows. Five minutes later, Poppy was back with a relieved expression on her face. "Thanks a lot, Albus," she said before she stepped over to Harry, whom Minerva had put to bed, tucking him in carefully.

"All right, Harry; Aunt Poppy will look after you and will make you all better, okay? And if you want, we can read a bed time story together with Sevvie afterwards."

Poppy quickly checked on the child and gave him a few potions, which he swallowed obediently. "Do you want a bedtime story now, Harry?" she asked gently.

"Yes pwease," Harry replied tiredly. "Sevvie?"

"Severus, do you want to come over for a bedtime story?" Minerva turned to the older boy, who was still playing with his green car. '_Where is Harry's car, by the way?_' she mused, knowing that he still had it in his hands when she changed his nappy. She chose a book with short animal stories from the bookshelf and sat down on the edge of Harry's bed, where Severus was already sitting close to Harry.

Harry listened intensely. He was so happy. Never in his life, at least as far as he could remember, had anyone read a story to him. '_But the nice lady has, and she cares for me; I'd love to have her as my new mummy_,' he mused while his eyes drooped close. His last thought before sleep claimed him was, '_And I like Sevvie too; it's great to have a brother. He's not like Dudley at all_.' Like from far away, he heard Minerva and Severus say Good Night to him and he felt a sloppy kiss being pressed on his cheek and a more proper kiss on his forehead.

Severus and the three adults watched as a small smile played on Harry's lips when he drifted off to sleep. "Thank you, Sevvie; you're a very good big brother for Harry," Minerva commended the boy, when he took the book from her to look through it once more.

Severus gave Minerva an enthusiastic smile. '_She commended me. She said I was a good big brother. I'm so happy here_,' he mused, tiredly leaning into Minerva's robes.

"I believe it's time for a bath for you, young man," Poppy told him and proceeded to put Severus into bed.

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Much later the same evening, Poppy and Minerva were drinking tea in Poppy's living room, watching the kids sleep through the charmed window. Suddenly, Minerva let out a gasp. "Poppy, where's Harry?"

"Maybe he went to... ah no, he still wears nappies," Poppy corrected herself immediately. "I can't see him, Minnie. Let's go and have a look."

* * *

_I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Minerva and Poppy hurried over into the children's room, and indeed, only Severus was peacefully asleep in his bed, while Harry was nowhere to be found. While Poppy stepped into the bathroom, Minerva went to ask Lily, if she had seen her son, but Lily told her that Harry hadn't left the room. "So he could be in my quarters or in Albus," Minerva mused aloud, "but somehow I can't imagine Harry to walk into unknown places just by himself during the night."

"Definitely not," Poppy agreed, sitting down on the edge of Severus' bed to think for a moment.

Suddenly, she noticed a green car coming along from under Harry's bed and let out a huge gasp, before she knelt down and pulled Harry from under the bed, putting him back on the bed. "Oh my God, what have these Muggles done to the poor child?" she sighed, glancing at Minerva, who seemed to be equally shocked.

"Well, we just have to help him forget all these things and have a happy childhood from now on," Minerva replied calmingly. "Poppy, I'm very glad that we have to look after them together," she told her best friend, whom she had known from her first evening at Hogwarts onwards.

"I think so too, Minerva," Poppy replied, quickly using the asthma spray on Harry. "We will have to speak to him about this tomorrow." She threw a spell around Harry's bed, so that the child couldn't get out, and the two women decided to go to bed as well.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

The next day was Christmas day. Harry was the first to wake up, because he still felt unwell and had a harsh cough as well as a fever. He wanted to get up and quietly look at a book as long as Severus was still asleep, but he couldn't get out of his bed. '_I'm not allowed on the bed, but now I can't get out, and I'll be punished_,' his fevered mind thought, causing the two-year-old to panic. Knowing that he was not allowed to make loud sounds, he didn't cry but whimper silently, huge tears running down his face, while he was busily cuddling his teddy bear. After a while, he noticed that it was getting difficult to breathe and he let out a few harsh coughs, causing Severus to stir.

"Sevvie, can you hewp me, pwease!" Harry asked his friend, who lazily scrambled out of his bed.

"Harry, what's wrong?" he asked astonished.

"I'm not woud on a bed, but I can't get off," Harry explained hoarsely, and Severus tried to pull Harry over to him, but he wasn't able to pull Harry out of the bed either.

"I get help," Severus shouted and headed for the three doors at the other end of the room. Since he had no idea, which door led where, he just chose the door in the middle, ending up in Poppy's quarters.

"Come and help Harry please," he told the nice woman, who was just coming out of her bathroom, and immediately hurried over into the children's room.

Poppy sat down on the edge of Harry's bed, pulling the toddler onto her lap. "Harry, what's wrong?" she asked, cancelling the spell that kept Harry on his bed at the same time.

"I'm not would on a bed," Harry explained in a stern voice, looking at the nice lady with wide eyes. "But I couldn't get off..." He coughed harshly, trying to catch his breath.

"Harry, you are not only allowed but also supposed to sleep in your bed," Poppy told him, giving him a quick shot from the asthma spray. "This here is your bed; the other bed is Severus', and I want both of you to sleep in your own beds. Apart from that, you're still ill and you mustn't make yourself so upset, sweetie. You're lucky that you have such a fine big brother, who came to get me to help you."

"Fanku Sevvie," Harry told his friend, feeling very grateful towards his new brother.

"You're welcome," Severus returned, smiling.

"Now, let me quickly check on you and give you your potions, and then, maybe we should head down to the Great Hall and see if Father Christmas has come and brought presents for us," Poppy suggested, and the children's eyes lit up immensely.

Poppy had just checked on Harry and made him swallow the potions, which he did without complaining, when Minerva entered the room. "Good morning boys, Poppy; happy Christmas!"

"Happy Christmas, Aunt Merva," Severus replied absentmindedly, while he was sitting on his bed trying hard to get his sock over his left foot.

"Happy Chwismas," Harry echoed, trying to get a glimpse of Minerva around Poppy, while he was lying on the changing table, getting his nappy changed.

While Poppy continued to dress Harry, Minerva proceeded to help Severus, who held out the sock for her pouting, "It doesn't want to go over my foot. Stupid sock!"

"Well, let me give it a try," Minerva replied softly and quickly dressed Severus in the clothes that Poppy had already put on the bed for him.

"Thank you, Aunt Merva," Severus said politely, before he grabbed Harry's hand, pulling him over to the portrait hole. "Can we go?" he asked, looking back to where the two ladies were standing, watching them in amusement.

"If you ask Lily politely to let us out, then she will surely open for us," Minerva told the boys, watching amused as Severus quickly explained to Lily that they wanted to go to the Great Hall to see if there were any presents for them.

"I wouldn't have imagined Severus to talk so much," Minerva whispered to Poppy, while they left the room and hurried down the stairs after the boys.

A few steps down the stairs, Harry suddenly began to cry. He pulled his hand away from Severus and sat down on the step. "Harry, what's wrong?" Severus asked gently, sitting down next to Harry.

'_Everything is turning around, but how can I tell them? They will think that I'm a freak_,' Harry mused worriedly, grateful when Severus sat next to him.

"You're not well enough to walk so much, are you, sweetie?" Poppy asked gently, picking the smaller boy up on her arms.

"Fanku," Harry mumbled gratefully, nestling deep into Poppy's robes, while Minerva took Severus' hand for the walk down the stairs.

When they entered the Great Hall, the two children were absolutely amazed by the decorations. Poppy put Harry down on the floor, and the two boys slowly approached the beautiful Christmas tree. While Harry sat down on the floor in front of the tree, looking at the tree with wide eyes and obvious amazement, Severus ran from one part of the tree to the next, closely examining the decorations. "It's very pretty," he breathed when he returned to the spot where the three others were waiting.

"Vewy pwetty," Harry echoed, when Severus sat down next to him, extending a small hand towards the colourful boxes under the tree.

"All right, Sevvie; you and Harry may open your presents now. However, we have to make sure that a present is for you, before you open it. Perhaps you pull the presents out from under the tree and show them to Aunt Minerva or to me?" Poppy suggested gently, receiving enthusiastic nods from both kids.

The first present that Severus showed Poppy was for Harry and Severus together. Severus quickly tore the wrapping paper off only to stop in confusion. "What's this?" he asked, slightly disappointed, holding out a small thing that looked like a miniature desk to Minerva.

"Ah, that's charmed to remain small, so that Father Christmas could transport it," Minerva explained, before she took the small item to a free space, putting it down on the floor. Then she pointed her wand at it to enlarge it, and both boys ran over to the huge workbench, which was half Muggle and half magical and even held a Potions kit for toddlers.

Harry and Severus immediately began to play, both of them in absolute delight. "Look Harry, we can brew poshuns with this. I love poshuns."

Harry gave him a confused look. "What is poshuns?" he asked hesitantly, feeling very stupid.

"Poshuns is great. You mix this and that and then it goes bang!" Severus explained excitedly, causing Harry to laugh in anticipation.

Suddenly, the lights in the Hall and on the Christmas tree went out, and a deep voice could be heard as a strange figure entered the Great Hall. The Hall was still not dark due to the daylight that came in through the charmed ceiling; nevertheless, Severus and Harry immediately fled into Poppy's and Minerva's arms, nestling deep into their robes in fright.

* * *

_Thanks for your kind reviews! I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes or correct them..._

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The figure that was dressed in red and gold approached the children with heavy footsteps, continuing to speak to them.

"Father Christmas!" Severus breathed in frightened amazement.

"That is correct, my boy. Have you been good during the last year? I heard that two very good little boys are living in this beautiful castle."

"Yes," Severus said frightfully.

"N... no," Harry began anxiously, but stopped. '_I don't know what I should say. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Tunia always said I was bad. But I try to be good, and I want to be good_.' He decided not to reply but try to hide in Minerva's robes.

"Harry was also a very good boy," Minerva replied on his behalf, making Harry glance up into her face in surprise.

"Well, then let me look what I have for you," the man replied, pulling two presents from his robe pockets, which became longer as he pulled. Finally, they came out of his pockets and he handed the presents to Severus and Harry, whom Minerva had put on the floor in the meantime.

Both children took their presents and happily thanked Father Christmas, before Severus once more tore the paper away, shouting, "A broom!"

Harry quietly tried to open the paper, until he finally gave up and handed it to Minerva. "Hewp pwease?" he asked pleadingly, and Minerva helped him to open the wrapping paper, revealing a toddler's broom just like Severus'.

"We cwean de cassul?" Harry asked confused, recognizing the broom from his stay at the Dursleys, where he had to clean the hall and the kitchen every morning.

"No sweetie; that's not a broom to clean anything; you sit on the broom and you fly," Poppy explained patiently. "If you feel well enough, you may try it out after breakfast. Severus, have you flown before?"

"Yes, but only once, and I can't fly so well," Severus replied softly.

"That's all right; you will learn it, and then you'll be able to fly very well," Minerva reassured the children just when the headmaster entered the Great Hall together with the other teachers and students, who had been waiting outside, while the headmaster played Father Christmas for the toddlers.

"It's time for breakfast!" Albus shouted, and as soon as he clapped into his hands a gorgeous Christmas breakfast appeared on the round table that replaced the four house tables during the holidays.

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After breakfast, Harry and Severus unwrapped the remaining presents. While Severus received a stuffed green dragon matching Harry's teddy, Harry held a Snitch in his hand that was charmed to move at a certain height, so that the children could play and try to catch it in their room.

As soon as they were finished unwrapping their presents, the toddlers returned to their workbench until Minerva asked, "Now, who wants to fly?"

Both children excitedly grabbed their brooms and gave Minerva an expecting look. "Are we going to fly here in the Hall?" Severus asked in confusion.

"I believe that would be the best, Sevvie," Poppy replied gently. "Harry is still too ill to go outside, and I'm sure you prefer to fly together, don't you?"

"Yes, fly together," Severus echoed, receiving a huge smile from Harry, who obviously adored his big brother.

Rolanda Hooch, the flying instructor, came over and taught the boys how to sit on their brooms properly. She also explained that the brooms were charmed to only take them to a fixed height and with a certain speed.

Harry and Severus enjoyed themselves immensely and flew all over the Great Hall as fast as their brooms let them go until Poppy called them down after an hour, afraid that Harry would overexcite himself.

"Harry is the better flyer," Minerva whispered to Poppy. "I bet he'll make it into a House team."

"I loww fwyin. We fwy mowe watew?" Harry hesitantly asked Poppy when he managed to land safely on the ground right in front of the nice lady.

"You may fly again later on, but I want you to rest a bit now," Poppy replied, worriedly feeling Harry's forehead. "Do you want to lie down for a while, sweetie?" she asked softly.

"Yes," Harry answered hoarsely before he toddled over to Minerva, who was just drinking tea with the other teachers, and climbed onto her lap, nestling into her robes.

"May I brew a potion?" Severus asked, slightly disappointed since he didn't feel tired at all.

"You may do that, sweetie," Poppy replied gently. "Shall I help you?"

Severus face lit immensely. "Oh yes please. Can you show me brew a potion to make Harry better?" He gave the Healer a pleading look.

Poppy sighed. "I'm afraid that's still difficult and we don't have the necessary ingredients here in your Potions kit. But if you really want to make Harry better, you can accompany me to the Potions classroom and assist me brew a fever reducing potion for him. I have to brew that anyway, and I'd appreciate your help very much.

"I'd like that," Severus replied happily and followed the Healer down into the dungeons, where the two engrossed themselves in the brewing of Healing potions until lunchtime.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

In the afternoon, the two children spent much time flying and experimenting with their work bench. '_I'd love to fly outside_,' Harry thought longingly, thinking of the lake that they could see from their window. He hesitantly voiced his thoughts in the evening, when Minerva and Poppy gave them a bath and put them to bed.

Poppy softly stroke his flushed cheeks and told him soothingly, "Wait for a week, sweetie, until your condition improves a lot, and then we will take you to fly outside. You're already much better, but you still have a fever and your lung infection isn't gone yet. That's why I don't want you to go out at the moment, especially as it is very cold outside."

A week later, on the day before the students would come back to Hogwarts, it began to snow. When Minerva entered the children's room in the morning, Severus ran over to her and asked excitedly, "Can we go out into the snow, please?"

"We go pway inde now?" Harry echoed, toddling over to her.

"Has Aunt Poppy been here and checked on Harry yet?" Minerva asked, not sure how to reply to the question.

"No." Severus shook his head.

"But I fine, wan pway inde now," Harry repeated, giving her a pleading look.

"All right Harry; let's quickly take your temperature," Minerva suggested, deciding to let the children out, provided that Harry didn't have a fever anymore. She gently pulled him up on her lap and stuck a thermometer under his armpit, knowing that he wouldn't accept the thing in his mouth. "Are you feeling better, sweetie?" she asked gently, cuddling him close while they were waiting.

"Much beta," Harry replied, glad when she pulled the annoying cold thing out.

"37.9," Minerva sighed. "Well, let's get you dressed, and I hope that Poppy won't mind if I take you outside.

She had just dressed the children in colourful snowsuits, when Poppy entered the room. The two women conferred for a minute and finally took the children out for a snowball fight. "Later on we can build a snowman, but I don't want you to stay outside for too long, and we need to eat breakfast," Poppy told them after a while.

"Can we fly in the snow later on?" Severus asked eagerly.

"Yes pwease!" Harry agreed, excitedly jumping up and down on both feet.

"You're really good at that, aren't you, sweetie?" Minerva smiled. "Yes, you may fly for a while after breakfast."

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The two children happily took into the air. Harry noticed with chagrin that Severus' broom could fly higher and faster than his own. '_I want to fly high too_,' he mused, somehow knowing that Severus couldn't fly better than he could. Concentrating hard on the heavy snow clouds above them, Harry tried to gain more height and speed, and to the adults' horror, his broom sped up, taking the toddler higher and higher into the air.

* * *

HP

_Thanks for your kind reviews! I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or tell me, so that I can correct them!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

In the blink of an eye Minerva was on a broom taking up into the air after Harry, who was contentedly flying high through the air at top speed. All of a sudden Minerva's voice penetrated his ear. "Harry!"

He looked around and saw Minerva flying a few metres behind him. Harry giggled and made his broom go down a few metres, obviously thinking that Minerva wanted to play catching, before he pulled up again behind Minerva with a huge smile on his face.

"Harry, get down to the ground immediately," he heard Minerva shout and at the same time felt that his broom couldn't move any more but was only hovering in the air.

Harry looked at Minerva with huge eyes, feeling totally confused. "Pway catf?" he enquired softly, wanting his broom to move forward to no avail.

"No Harry, you will fly down with me now," Minerva, who had caught up with him, said sternly, finally releasing the spell on his broom.

Harry sped up and raced around the Quidditch pitch for a moment, before he finally went into a huge dive and landed on the ground next to Poppy, who held a crying Severus in her arms.

"What's wong, Sevvie?" Harry asked in concern, stepping over to his friend. He slowly raised a hand to touch his brother's cheek that was full of tears.

"Harry!" Severus replied in relief, still clinging to Poppy.

"Severus became a big fright because you were flying so high," Poppy explained quietly, continuing to rub circles in Severus' back.

"Sowwy Sevvie," Harry said apologetically, "fwy so much fun."

"Well, we're going to have a stern talk about this matter," Minerva said strictly, and Harry saw that her mouth was stretched to a thin line.

He stepped over to Minerva and held out his hand, glad when the woman, who was the closest to being his Mum, took his hand and walked with him back into their room. When they reached the entrance door to their room, Harry told Lily's portrait, "Went fwyin on de bwoom, so much fun!"

Lily laughed at her excited son and threw the others, who were looking slightly upset, a curious glance.

"Your son is a much too good flyer for his own good. He overcame all the age limitations the broom provided and just took off," Minerva filled her in quietly, before she followed Harry into the room.

Back in the children's room, the two adults took the children's snowsuits off, and Poppy led Severus into the play corner to read a book to him. Minerva ushered Harry into a corner at the opposite side of the room, taking two small chairs with her. She made Harry sit down in front of her and looked at him with a stern expression on her face.

"Sowwy," Harry said frightened. '_I don't want her to be angry at me_,' he thought sadly.

"Harry, what you did was very naughty," Minerva said strictly. "The broom is charmed to only fly at a certain height and with a certain speed, and we told you that before. Maybe it's not your fault that you breached the broom's wards, but you should know better than to go up so far into the air. You should have stayed together with Severus."

"But Sevvie's bwoom mowe high dan my, and Sevvie no fwy good," Harry tried to make her understand.

"Severus' broom can go a bit higher and faster, because Severus is nearly a year older than you, Harry. Flying like you did is much too dangerous for a two-year-old like you," Minerva explained. "We love you, and we don't want that something happens to you and that you get hurt." She stood up and turned Harry's chair around, so that he was facing the wall. "You will stay here in timeout for a few minutes and think about what you did."

Harry gave her a sad look, and his lower lip started to quiver dangerously. "Teddy?" he asked hoarsely.

"Yes, I will bring you Teddy," Minerva agreed and summoned Teddy for Harry, before she retreated into her own room for a while.

Harry gratefully took Teddy and cuddled him close. '_Flying was so much fun. Why was it bad?_' he thought in confusion. He felt awful sitting alone in the corner in spite of his much worse memories from his time at the Dursleys. '_I want to play with Sevvie_,' he mused, longing for his big brother. '_Will they send me back to the Dursleys because I was bad?_' a horrifying thought suddenly struck his mind. After a few minutes of thinking and spilling a few tears, Harry noticed that he had a bad headache and didn't feel well at all anymore.

Poppy watched the child as well as she could from the other side of the room, while she was reading a small book to Severus, who was only calming down slowly from the shock he had received in the morning, when Harry suddenly took off on his broom, causing Severus to fear that he would never come back. She intended to let Harry sit in timeout for a few more minutes, until Severus had calmed down completely. However, all of a sudden, Lily's voice penetrated her ear.

"Poppy, I don't think Harry is feeling well. He's shivering."

Poppy laid down the book and held out a hand to Severus. "Shall we go and see what's wrong with Harry, sweetie?"

"Yes," Severus replied, jumping onto his feet.

"Thank you, Lily," Poppy whispered to the portrait that was near the spot where Harry was sitting. She knelt down in front of Harry and looked into his eyes that were slightly glazed over. "Are you feeling unwell, sweetie?" she asked softly, gently feeling his forehead.

"Head hawts," Harry whispered miserably. "I bad?" he asked anxiously. "Don' wan back Duwsleyw."

"Back to the Dursleys?" Poppy asked incredulously. "Why would you have to go there? You're living here with us now, Harry."

"Harry stay here wif Sevvie," Severus said firmly, fiercely pulling the smaller boy into an embrace. "Harry is my little brother."

"Exactly," Poppy confirmed. "However, Harry is having a fever and needs to take a nap." She gently pulled the child up from his chair and led him towards his bed. Pointing her wand at his head she quickly took his temperature, confirming that his condition had worsened due to all the excitement. "Harry, try to sleep for a while. Don't worry about anything; everything is all right. You will not go back to the Dursleys or anywhere else. Minerva is your new Mummy, and we all love you very much. You belong to us now. Minerva had to punish you because you were naughty, but that's over now and you only have to rest, so that the bad headache and the fever will go away. All right, sweetie?"

"Yes," Harry said and closed his eyes in exhaustion, drifting off to sleep within seconds.

When he woke up a few hours later and lazily opened his eyes, Severus was sitting on the edge of his bed, quietly looking at a book. Seeing that Harry was awake, he happily jumped off the bed and enquired, "Do you want to play withe train?"

"Okay," Harry replied and scrambled out of his bed, following his brother as fast as he could. "We hewp dese amals go Hogwawts?" he enquired, seeing that Severus was putting animals into the train.

"Yes, we have to help them to go to Hogwarts," the older boy confirmed, smiling. '_I'm glad that Harry is better and can play with me. It's much more fun to play together_,' he thought happily, '_even if he is still a bit small_.'

None of them noticed Minerva and Poppy standing in the doorframe watching the two children play together. "Can you imagine older Severus and James Potter playing together like that?" Minerva whispered to her friend, and both of them couldn't help laughing at the thought.

"I'd never have imagined that Severus was as talkative and would be such a great big brother," Poppy whispered back in amazement.

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During the next weeks, Harry and Severus became used to their new life at Hogwarts fairly quickly. Sometimes they fought about something like all siblings do, but most times they played together very well. Due to the bad childhood experiences they had already made at their young age before Minerva, Poppy, and Albus took them in, they were both over the moon with joy about their new family.

While Severus did his best to take care of his brother, knowing that he was still small and a bit sickly due to his asthma, Harry tried to learn everything he could from his adored big brother.

One evening, Minerva and Poppy were sitting in Poppy's office having tea like they often did in the evenings, when suddenly Harry appeared in the doorframe, a troubled expression on his small face.

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HP

_Thanks for your kind reviews! I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or tell me, so that I can correct them!_

_All recognizable characters belong to J.K.Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Harry, what's wrong?" Poppy was the first to notice the child.

"Have to go wee-wee. Hewp me, pwease?" Harry asked, giving the Healer a pleading look.

"Of course, Harry," Poppy replied, quickly walking over to the toddler to take him to the bathroom. When she gently took off his nappy, he gave her a grateful nod and relieved himself, throwing Poppy a proud look when he was finished.

"Oh Harry, you're such a fine big boy now," Poppy told him, while she fastened his nappy again. "You did that very well, sweetie. Now let's get you back to bed, so that you can tell Sevvie early in the morning. He'll be very proud of you, too."

"Yes!" Harry said happily, but instead of returning to his own room he went back into Poppy's office and climbed on Minerva's lap, tiredly leaning into her robes. Mere seconds later, he was fast asleep.

"Shall I take him back to bed?" Poppy offered, reaching out for the child.

"No Poppy, it's all right; he is so light, and I believe that he needs the body contact after all that he went through," Minerva replied pensively, while she gently stroked the sleeping toddler's cheeks. "Don't you think so?"

"He definitely needs it, even more than Severus at this age," her friend agreed firmly.

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One afternoon a few weeks later, when Severus and Harry were playing with their train, which still was their absolutely favoured toy, even more than the work bench with the potions kit, Minerva entered the room, smirking.

"Severus and Harry, you better clean up this place very well today, because the Easter Bunny is coming tonight."

"The Easter Bunny?" Severus asked in surprise, giving Harry an enquiring look. When his smaller brother only shrugged, throwing him a questioning look back, he continued, "What's the Easter Bunny?"

Minerva laughed. "Tomorrow is Easter Sunday, and the Easter Bunny always comes during the night before Easter Sunday and hides chocolate eggs for good children." Noticing how Harry's face all of a sudden fell at her explanation, she added, "and I know for a fact that both of you have been very good boys. However, you have to clean up a bit, so that the Easter Bunny won't break his legs, if he tried to get around here."

"Can we leave the train there?" Severus asked, giving Minerva a pleading look.

"Yes, the train may stay there; just pick everything up that doesn't belong to the train and is spread all over the room," she replied smiling, watching in amazement how the news of the Easter Bunny worked wonders and made the children clean up in the blink of an eye.

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The following morning, Severus woke up very early. He climbed onto Harry's bed, shaking him awake. "Harry, the Easter Bunny! Le's see if he was here and brought us Easter eggs!"

"Yeah," Harry replied excitedly and scrambled out of his bed, dashing over to the play corner after his brother.

"I have one!" Severus shouted, showing Harry a small egg, wrapped in shiny green foil.

"Me too!" Harry replied happily.

Alerted by a spell that the children had woken up, Minerva entered the room, smiling at the excited toddlers. "Good morning, Severus and Harry. Did the Easter Bunny come?" she enquired gently.

"Look Aunt Minerva, the Easter Bunny has played with our train. Lots of eggs are in the train, and the train has moved from Hogwarts to Dondon," Severus explained, while Harry was busily collecting eggs, which he put on the floor where his Teddy was watching over them.

"London," Minerva corrected the exciting child in a soft voice.

"Don't eat too many eggs, Teddy, or you will get a tummy ache," Severus warned Harry's Teddy, remembering well what had happened when he ate too many chocolate frogs a few weeks ago.

"Onwy two, Teddy," Harry told Teddy firmly, becoming frightened for his teddy at Severus' warning. He abandoned the egg search for a moment and toddled over to Minerva, who gently picked him up and cuddled him close.

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When they were sitting at the Head table in the Great Hall having breakfast an hour later, Severus suddenly said, "Harry, next year we must put something to eat and drink on the train for the Easter bunny. He must be hungry after bringing so many eggs to all the children."

"Yeah, we do dat," Harry replied with determination, causing all the adults to smile.

"I'm sure the Easter Bunny will appreciate it very much, my dears," Poppy told the children, giving them an appraising look, before she motioned Harry to eat a bit more of his nearly untouched breakfast.

"Bewwy full, Aun Poppy. I awready eat two eggs, bwu and gween. I wiked bwu one bettew," Harry replied in a small voice, knowing that the nice woman always scolded him, if he didn't eat much at the table.

Poppy quickly called a House elf and asked for a small bowl with grapes, knowing that Harry liked grapes a lot. When they appeared right in front of Harry, everyone watched in awe how the small boy tucked in with obvious pleasure.

Suddenly, Harry stopped eating, giving the small bowl in front of him a piercing look. In front of the stunned teachers' eyes, a second bowl appeared with the same amounts of grapes in it. Smiling happily, Harry pushed the new bowl over to Severus, "Hewe Sevvie, dey nicy."

"Thanks Harry," Severus replied, happily eating his grapes.

"Oh I'm sorry, sweetie," Poppy told Severus, pulling him into a bear hug.

"It's all right; I already ate much breakfast; I'm a good boy," Severus replied and returned a smile, knowing that Harry never really ate as much as he should.

"Yes my dear, you're a very good boy, and Harry is a good boy too," Poppy commended the children, wondering since when Severus liked grapes.

"I have to go on an errand to Diagon Alley today," the Headmaster suddenly spoke up, turning to the children. "Who wants to accompany me?"

"Me too," Severus shouted eagerly, causing Harry to agree, "Me one."

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An hour later, Albus apparated them to Diagon Alley. "At first, I have to go to the bookshop," he told the children. "If you wait patiently until I'm ready, you may choose one book each for yourselves."

Severus and Harry obediently sat down on the floor at the end of the shelf that their guardian was skimming. Several people greeted the old man, and he proudly introduced his children, who behaved so well. Finally, he had found what he was looking for and ushered them to the children's books division.

Severus and Harry happily looked at the books, and Severus fairly quickly chose a book from the '_Who – Why – What_' series about Potions and recommended one about animals from the same series to Harry.

"Awwight," Harry happily agreed, and Albus paid for the books.

"Now, you were very good boys in the bookshop," he told his children. "Therefore, I'll take you to one more shop. Do you want to go to the sweet shop or to the toy shop?"

Severus and Harry exchanged a glance, before Severus finally answered, "To the toy shop please."

"Are you sure? Harry, do you prefer the toy shop over chocolate frogs too?"

"Yes pwease," Harry replied in a small voice, looking at his older brother.

Slightly disappointed, the Headmaster took the children into the toy shop, promising them that they might choose one item they wanted to have. While Harry watched every single shelf with huge eyes since he had never seen a toy shop before, Severus quickly decided on a station for their train set. "Look Harry, shall we take the station? Then the animals can easily get off at Hogwarts when they come with our Hogwarts train."

"Yay!" Harry shouted happily, before he became solemn and anxiously turned his eyes to the old man.

Albus, however, was watching Harry from his blue eyes that were twinkling joyfully. He asked gently, "Is that what you would like to have, Harry and Severus?"

"Yes please," Harry replied in a small voice, echoed by Severus', "Yes sir, if we may."

Dumbledore paid for the station, unbeknownst to the kids buying a bridge for the train set as well, and ushered them back to a side street, from where he apparated them home.

For the rest of the day, Severus and Harry played with their train set and only grudgingly obeyed when they were called for dinner or when they were told to get ready for their bath in the evening.

"Can you hewp build a house fowde amaws at Hogwats tation?" Harry asked Minerva while she was washing Severus' hair, excitedly playing with the toy dragon that his brother had just released from his grip.

"Tomorrow, Harry; tomorrow I'll show you how to build a barn for the animals with your Lego bricks," Minerva promised, smiling when Severus contradicted vehemently.

"I know how to do build a house for the animals but Harry sat on the house I builded and it was so much work," he explained indignantly.

"Was an accident," Harry replied in a small voice, "sowwy Sevvie."

When Severus got up early the next morning and shook Harry awake, the smaller boy told him, "Hawwy no wan pway twain today."

"Why not, Harry? What's wrong?" Severus asked worriedly, climbing up into Harry's bed to cuddle with his little brother and find out what was wrong, so that they could play together."

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HP

_Thanks for your kind reviews! I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse my mistakes – or tell me, so that I can correct them!_

_All recognizable characters belong to __Mrs. Rowling__, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Severus climbed up into Harry's bed, cuddling his brother close. "Harry, what's wrong? Are you sick? Why don't you want to play with the train?"

Harry merely threw him a sad look but didn't reply. He closed his eyes and nestled deep into his brother's embrace. Severus listened worriedly to his irregular breathing, and suddenly remembering what the adults always did when they assumed Harry was ill, he carefully laid a hand on Harry's forehead, noticing that it felt very hot to the touch.

"Harry, I go fetch Aunt Poppy," he said firmly, causing Harry to tiredly shake his head.

"No, Sevvie wif Hawwy much bettew," he whispered as he slowly drifted back to sleep, feeling very comfortable and cared for in his brother's arms.

Severus worriedly observed his brother sleep. '_He'll have to stay in bed for a few days and can't play with the train set with me as usual_,' he thought sadly. '_How can I get my book to read? I may not wake him up_.' He fidgeted for a while, not daring to leave his spot beside Harry, because his brother seemed so comfortable in his arms, before he finally held his free arm out for the book wishing for it to come to him.

Minerva entered the room just in time to watch Severus' newest Potions book fly into his outstretched arm, before a huge smile spread over his small face.

"Severus," she blurted out in surprise, "that was incredibly strong magic. You did that very well." She sat down on the edge of the bed, wondering why Severus was cuddling Harry although the smaller boy was asleep.

Seeing that Minerva held out her arms for him to cuddle, Severus carefully pushed Harry aside so he could get up and climbed onto Minerva's lap, not able to hold back the tears anymore. "Aunt Minerva, Harry is sick and can't play with me. Harry is always sick."

"Harry is sick?" Minerva asked in surprised, worriedly looking in Harry's face, noticing that it seemed a bit flushed.

"He breathes like a steam engine," Severus explained, sobbing, "and his face is hot."

Minerva glanced back at Severus. Huge tears were running down his cheeks. "Oh my poor sweetie, and you wanted to play with Harry. We'll ask Aunt Poppy as soon as she comes, and maybe Harry will be fine later today. Would you like to accompany me to my Transfiguration class today? The seventh year students are going to take the Animagus potion during the first two periods in order to find out which animal they'll become if they manage the Animagus transformation."

"Oh yes, I'd like that," Severus replied, and his small face lit with joy.

"All right, Sevvie, I'll take you with me. However, you have to promise that you'll sit on your chair and don't stand up and don't speak."

"I promise," Severus shouted happily, jumped down from Minerva's lap, and ran over to the wardrobe, waiting for Minerva to lay out clothes for him. "Oh no!" he suddenly remembered. "I must stay with Harry; Harry is sad without Sevvie."

Minerva stood up as well and leaned over Harry, worriedly feeling his forehead. "Yes, he is a bit feverish and he has breathing problems, but I don't think it's so bad," she said thoughtfully. "I think he'll sleep a bit longer if he doesn't feel well, and I can still take you back to him after the first two hours of class when the Animagus class is finished." She laid out clothes for Severus and gently helped the child to dress, wondering why Poppy hadn't shown up yet.

Suddenly, Harry woke up, letting out a series of small coughs, causing Minerva to turn to the child. "Good morning, sweetie, are you awake?" she asked gently, scooping the child up on her arm.

Harry mumbled something incoherent, tiredly laying his head on Minerva's shoulder. Minerva quickly waved her wand at him to magically change his dirty nappy and pyjamas to a clean nappy with a warm and comfortable jump suit, before she held out a hand to Severus.

"Let's go and look for Aunt Poppy," she told the children and left the room with Harry resting on her shoulder and Severus toddling at her side with his small hand in hers. They passed Poppy's empty quarters and her office and entered the hospital wing, where her friend seemed to be busy with a whole room of sick students. They waited aside for a while, until Poppy finally noticed them and came over quickly.

"Minerva, can you please take the children with you to class today?" she asked hurriedly. "I have a whole room of children with the wizard's measles, which I don't want the kids to catch."

"Of course, I can take them with me; I'd just like you to check on Harry; he seems a bit unwell this morning."

Poppy frowned and gently took the child from Minerva, although Harry didn't want to let go. "Come sweetie, let me see how we can make you feel better," Poppy said softly, placing him on the last empty bed, before she waved her wand at him a few times. "He has a slight cold, but he's suffering from his normal problem, a constriction of the wind-pipe. He needs to use the inhaler, so he won't get a lung infection again, and then you can take him with you; he's not supposed to romp about though, because he is running a temperature." Poppy ushered Minerva and the children into her office to keep them away from her other patients and prepared the inhaler for Harry, handing it to Minerva.

"You already know how to do it, don't you, sweetie?" Minerva commended the child when Harry obediently sat on her lap using the inhaler, before she praised Severus, who spent the few minutes sitting on another chair reading his book. "Well then, let's head to my classroom," she finally said, ushering the children out of the hospital wing.

Harry obediently walked between Minerva and Severus, but as soon as they reached the first flight of stairs, he stood in front of Minerva, throwing her a pleading glance, and begged, "Up."

"It's _up please_, Harry," Severus corrected him quietly, sounding very proud to be able to help his little brother speak properly.

Sighing, Minerva carried the child to the classroom, where she conjured a warm blanket and put it on the floor next to her desk for the children to sit or lie down. Seeing that Harry immediately lay down, she conjured a warm blanket and gently tucked him in, before she once more reminded the children that they could watch the students but had to keep quiet.

By the time the seventh year students arrived, Harry had already drifted off to sleep, and Severus abandoned his book, sitting up in expectation. '_This will be so interesting_,' he mused, imagining a group of tigers and lions running around the classroom like in the zoo. With a flick of her wand Minerva distributed the phials from her desk except for two that remained, because two of the seven year students were stuck in the hospital wing with the wizard's measles. Minerva once more waved her wand at the room, and all the desks moved to the side, making space for a huge bed, which she conjured in the middle of the room.

"All right then, who wants to begin? I suggest that you lie down on the bed here after taking the potion, because the first Animagus transformation can hurt and you might want to lie down," she explained gently.

The first student took the potion, lay down, and at first nothing happened. However, a few minutes later, the boy suddenly transformed into a black poodle. After another few minutes, during which he kept stumbling on the small dog's feet, he seemed to get used to them, jumping from the bed and running around the classroom in obvious delight.

When the first student automatically transformed back and the second one took the potion, Severus lightly shook Harry's shoulder, whispering, "Harry, wake up; is funny! Harry, wakey wakey."

Harry blinked but was soon wide awake noticing a squirrel running around the classroom. He sat next to Severus, laid his head on Severus' shoulder, and proceeded to watch the next transformations. Both children enjoyed the display a lot, and suddenly, Harry pointed to the two remaining phials on Minerva's desk, causing Severus' eyes to widen in shock and anticipation. Severus motioned Harry to stay put and tried to wish the two phials into his outstretched hand like he had summoned his book in the morning. Knowing that Minerva would notice if one of them got up and took the phials, he tried again and again, and finally, the two phials hovered into his hand.

Severus gave one to Harry but took it back, seeing that Harry couldn't open it. He uncorked both phials and pressed one against Harry's mouth, gulping down the other one as soon as he had taken back Harry's empty phial. "Lie down," he whispered to Harry, pulling his brother down with him.

At first nothing happened and it seemed like an infinite time until the two children finally realized that their bodies began to transform. They anxiously clung to each other, noticing that their vision strangely widened, that it hurt terribly, and all they could see was black.

_

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tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews and sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	11. Chapter 11

**Harry's and Severus' New Family – Chapter 11**

"Harry, you're a bird," Severus whispered, curiously glancing at his own body, only to notice it held the same black feathers as Harry's. "I'm a bird too," he added in surprise.

'_It hurts so much_,' Harry mused, frantically trying to keep him upright on his bird feet as suddenly one of the students noticed the two birds next to the teacher's table and shouted, "Look, two birds! Are they phoenixes?"

Minerva threw the two kids in their Animagus forms a terrified look, confirming sternly, "Yes, the one with the green back feathers is a wind phoenix, and the one with the blue back feathers is a water phoenix."

"They are beautiful!" a Gryffindor girl breathed, causing Minerva to throw the two birds a half angry half proud look.

"Very well. Let's get on, so all of you will get to know their Animagus forms before the end of class," she replied sternly, observing from the corner of her eyes how her two boys automatically transformed back into their human forms a few minutes later. She watched contentedly as Severus gently tucked Harry into the warm blanket and whispered something to him, placing one of his sloppy kisses on his forehead.

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"What do you think you're doing?" Minerva couldn't help asking angrily after finally dismissing the students.

"I'm sorry; it was my fault," Severus explained in a small voice. "I thought it was much fun."

"My fow too," Harry breathed. He was sitting next to his brother, tiredly resting his head against the older boy's shoulder, gasping for air.

"Harry, are you all right?" Minerva asked terrified as she noticed that he obviously seemed to have problems breathing.

"Ye," he whispered miserably, shivering under the warm blanket that Severus had carefully draped around his body.

"I'll better take you to Aunt Poppy again," Minerva decided, gently scooping the child up. "Severus, will you come with us, please?"

"Of course," Severus replied, worriedly, and ran ahead to open the doors for Minerva.

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"How could that happen, Minerva?" Poppy queried in exasperation. "His condition is much worse, and I need to constantly monitor him. He'll have to stay in my office for the time being."

"Is my fault," Severus admitted in a small voice. "Can I stay and help look after Harry?"

"Yes, you may help me; however, you have to stay in my office and not run around the open hospital wing, because there are many students with a dangerous illness that I don't want you to catch, sweetie," Poppy replied gently, turning to Minerva. "I intend to give both of them the immunization shots against all the magical children's diseases during the summer holidays. I hope Harry's immune system will allow me to do so."

"That's a very good idea," Minerva said warmly. "I'm sorry, Poppy. I was so reckless as to leave two spare phials of the Animagus potion on my desk, and Severus must have managed to summon them with accidental magic."

"And they transformed into what?" Poppy queried, rolling her eyes.

"I'm a water phoenix," Severus blurted out, "and Harry is a wind phoenix."

"Oh, these are very beautiful Animagus forms," Poppy replied in amazement. "You're both very powerful wizards. However, you have to be much older before you can try to transform into your forms."

"Yes," Severus replied sadly, resolving to talk Harry into trying as soon as he was back to full health.

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Unfortunately, it took several weeks before Harry recovered, since he caught the wizard's measles on top of his respiratory infect, causing him to remain very ill for the end of the school year.

"Thank God I was alert enough to give Severus the immunization shot the day they tried the Animagus potion; otherwise, we'd have to separate the kids," Poppy said to Minerva as she spelled the potion for the measles into Harry's system.

"How long do you think it'll take before Harry will be able to get up?" Minerva queried. "Albus said something about taking the children to the seaside for a week or two."

"That's a good idea, especially for Harry. The sea air will be good for his respiratory system," Poppy replied thoughtfully. "Does Albus intend to take them alone, or does he expect you or both of us to join them?"

Minerva chuckled. "As far as I understood him, he was planning a family excursion for all of us. I saw several pamphlets of magical holiday resorts on his desk this morning."

"Oh well, let's wait until after the Leaving Feast tonight and ask him then," Poppy said, smiling as she observed Harry drift off to sleep with his teddy in his arm, his small thumb tucked in his mouth.

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Two weeks later, Harry's condition was finally well enough for Poppy to allow him out of bed. Since Poppy had agreed that a stay at the seaside might help with Harry's breathing problems, the Headmaster decided not to waste any more time but to leave for their holidays right away.

"We'll go to a magical resort," Minerva told the excited children. "It's not far from here, but it's on a huge beach, and the air and the water temperature are charmed to be very warm, and we'll have lots of sunshine there."

"Oh, can I learn how to swim?" Severus asked in apparent excitement, causing Minerva to chuckle inwardly as she tried to imagine his older self's reaction to going to a seaside resort together with his colleagues.

"As far as I'm informed, they even have swimming classes," she replied thoughtfully. "Harry, would you like to learn to swim as well?"

"Yeah," Harry shouted happily, jumping up and down on both feet in absolute excitement. '_Whatever swimming is, it sounds like fun, especially if it's classes. In the students' classes, always interesting things happen_,' he mused as he continued to listen to his brother's and his guardian's conversation.

Suddenly, Poppy entered the room and handed each of them a small rucksack. "Each of you may take his teddy or dragon to cuddle with as well as one book and one more toy of your choice with you," she instructed the boys, who excitedly toddled through their room, busily throwing cars in their rucksacks only to pull them out and insert other toys seconds later. Finally, Harry had decided on the Hogwarts express that was boarded by many toy animals, while Severus had packed a box filled with Lego.

"Look, Aunt Poppy, is that all right?" they both asked, eagerly showing their rucksacks.

Poppy chuckled as she nodded her agreement, knowing that the rucksacks were going to change their contents at least a dozen more times before they were going to leave the following morning.

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After breakfast, the Headmaster produced an inflatable starfish, motioning Minerva, Poppy, Severus and Harry to hold on tightly, before he muttered the incantation to activate the Portkey. A few uncomfortable seconds later, Harry and Severus found themselves surrounded by sand.

'_This is so much fun_,' Harry thought, excitedly patting the sand in a huge commotion, not realising that he was flinging small bits of sand on the others until Severus began to cry when a grain of sand ended up in his eye.

"Harry, please stop it," Minerva instructed him in a gentle but firm voice, causing Harry to watch in concern as Poppy cleaned Severus' eye.

"Sowwy Sevvie," he said remorsefully as he leaned over, putting a sloppy kiss on his brother's arm.

"All right, Minerva, let's go and get the key to our apartment," Albus suggested, and the two professors turned around towards the house.

"Oh Harry, look!" Severus suddenly exclaimed, pointing to the waves that were calmly rolling onto the beach. "The sea!"

"Yay!" Harry shouted and dashed away, while Severus asked Poppy, who was searching her bag for sun cream, if they were allowed to play in the water for a while. Seeing that other children were playing in the shallow water, Harry quickly pulled off his shoes and socks and happily followed their example.

"Today, you may only go into the water with your feet. From tomorrow onwards, you can attend the swimming course," Poppy replied gently and accompanied Severus down to the water, assuming that Harry had accompanied Minerva and Albus.

"Where is Harry?" Severus asked suddenly, searching the beach and the shallow water for the smaller boy.

"He went with Aunt Minerva and Uncle Albus. I'm sure they'll be back soon."

"No, he ran down here; look, these are his shoes and socks," Severus replied, pointing to his brother's belongings.

"Oh my God," Poppy gasped and motioned Severus to remain where he was while she hurried into the shallow water, not bothering to take her clothes off.

When Minerva and Albus returned to the beach twenty minutes later, they found a sobbing Severus sitting near the shallow water all on his own.

* * *

_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews and sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


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